Oxomoco Visited October 2018 4 Forks

Oxomoco  128 Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222

Oxomoco has been part of the trend of super hot restaurants popping up in Greenpoint.  I've always loved Greenpoint but it's certainly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the dining scene.  I had been wanting to try this place out and met up with Paige there on a random weekday night.  It was packed but luckily we were still able to get a table there without much of a wait. 

The menu is high end but still relatable Mexican food.  Of course as with any Mexican meal, we had to get the guacamole ($15) - which by the way, when the hell did guacamole become so crazy expensive?? Thanks Trump.  Every time I get guacamole I feel the same way, it's good but never feels any better than the kind I can make at home myself.  But it just feels wrong to be eating Mexican food without smashed up avocados.  The tacos are the main stars here and we got the shrimp, pork cheek and barbacoa (you can get them in twos or threes ($15-$24) - since we were getting so many we opted for the two's version, which I think is the better way to go if you want some variety).  They were all excellent - the meats moist and juicy and all served with really fresh ingredients and salsa.  The tortillas tasted like the homemade ones I got in Mexico City and made with blue corn.   No sour cream or rice and beans to be found here (although don't get me wrong, I love them on the right kind of Mexican food).

It's no wonder this place is so popular.  I should also give a shout out to their cocktail list - my Paloma was excellent.  While Greenpoint isn't always the easiest place to get to, it's places like this that show why it's a great food destination to check out. 

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Di An Di Visited Visited 8/26/2018 3.5 Forks

Di An Di  68 Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222

Di An Di is one of the most buzzed about restaurants this year and given the dearth of really great Vietnamese places near me, I was super jazzed to try this place out.  Louise was visiting from SF and she was staying in Williamsburg so it was a perfect excuse to give this place a try.

As with any talked about place in Brooklyn, the place was jammed packed and despite having a reservation we still had to wait 20 mins for our table.  As you would expect from a place in Greenpoint, the place is totally hipstered out and is by no means a traditional Asian restaurant (not that I was really expecting it to be).  I'll give it credit and say it's beautifully designed and very Instagram worthy with gorgeous plants and pale pink accents on the walls.

The menu is a pretty authentic line up of Vietnamese dishes - pho, bun bo, banh xeo, spring rolls,  summer rolls, etc.  It's modern but still recognizable traditional dishes.  We split the "vegan pizza" ($15) and the eggplant appetizer while I got the pho hanoi #3 ($16) as my main entree.  It kills me a little bit to be paying these kinds of prices when my favorite pho place in Maryland is $8 a bowl but I'm paying for the upscale ambience and trendy crowd.  The prices in general are slightly overpriced for what I would pay for good Vietnamese food but it's pretty on par for what you are going to pay in the neighborhood in general.

The veggie "pizza" was really grilled rice paper filled with veggies and it was pretty meh.  There wasn't anything really good or bad about it - it wasn't very memorable or something I'd order again.  The eggplant was super overcooked so it turned out too mushy and it was a bit too spicy as well.  I had higher hopes for the pho and it was better than the appetizers,  although it still didn't measure up to Pho 75.  The broth was good and flavorful but there wasn't enough meat to the bowl.  It was just brisket, which I love but I felt like I could have used more meat variety.  Perhaps I should have ordered the Pho Bo #1 which had rare beef and brisket to it.  The menu says that this dish is covered in scallions and they weren't wrong.  The soup is practically green when you get it - I love scallions but it was a bit too much for me.

Overall, I left feeling a bit let down by the whole experience.  I like the concept and I read that the owners were Vietnamese folks from Houston where there is a huge Vietnamese populations, so it's not like it's run by people who don't know what they are doing.  It continues to get a ton of buzz and recognition from a bunch of well respected food blogs, so maybe it was an off night for me.  Despite my initial disappointment, I would still go back and order completely different things just to give it one more try.  Fool me once...Total bill:  $60/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Wanpaku Visited 7/20/2018 3.5 Forks

Wanpaku  621 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222

Another Asian opening in the area!  I was super excited to see this new place because like sushi, there is a dearth of ramen places within walking distance of where I live.  I came during lunch on a hot July Friday afternoon, which is so not ramen weather.  But I was still excited to try it out anyways.  The decor is lovely and when I went it was totally empty but then again it was 12pm on a weekday.

The menu has a nice line up for Japanese small plates like homemade tofu, Japanese eggplant, pork buns and salmon tartare.  They also had one of my favorites:  fried oysters ($8), which I had to try!  They also have a good variety of ramen - from chicken broth to beef broth to even 2 vegetarian versions (one is even gluten free - welcome to Brooklyn).  They also have katsu dishes (Japanese curry) and donburi.   When I went they also had seasonal specials like the cold ceviche ramen.  Since it was so hot outside and because I love raw seafood, I had to try this dish. 

The fried oysters came our first and they were served with a Japanese tartare sauce.  Usually I find it hard to go wrong with anything fried but this one was mushy and not that great.  It's almost like it was under fried.  The best part of any fried dish is the crunch and this one didn't have it.  Plus if the crunch isn't there then at least the oyster part should be nice and plump and this one wasn't.  So I was a bit anxious about what was to come.  Luckily the cold ramen was much better.  I will say cold ramen just doesn't stack up to a nice hot ramen with fatty broth and sliced pork in it.  But this tasted healthier and there was a good portion of shrimp (cooked), raw tuna and salmon with masago and avocado.  It could have used a bit more flavoring or even a cold broth to add some saltiness to it. 

The place leans more towards the trendy hipster side and I wouldn't say it's super authentic but if you're in the mood for some Japanese small bites and ramen, it's worth checking out.  There's also a super cute hidden bar in the back called The Hidden Pearl that is like a speakeasy with tiki drinks.  It's small, dark and kind of random but also worth checking out if you're in the area, on a date or have out of town friends.  Total bill:  $33 with tax and tip

Norman Visited 5/4/2018 4.5 Forks

Norman  29 Norman Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222

Ever since I went to Denmark and Norway, I have been obsessed with all things Scandinavian.  I'll admit that the food isn't for everyone and it's got it's own unique flavor palate but I really enjoy it.  So I was thrilled to check out Norman which is the ultimate hipster paradise in Greenpoint.  It's this enormous creative space in Greenpoint that is kind of like part WeWork, part cafe.  The entire aesthetic reeks of a typical minimalist Scandinavian design that I love.   There a tons of communal tables, lots of light and open space - perfect for the Brooklyn freelancer which there were tons of.   If I were some hipster freelancer, I would work here all the time. 

In the middle of the space is a cafe/bar/restaurant where you can order a variety of Scandinavian focused food - so think of grainy bread, smoked salmon and cured meats.  They also have a daily lunch special for $14 which comes with a vegetable side dish and freshly baked bread.  I was super tempted by the egg sandwich since I was there for lunch on a weekday but I opted for the daily lunch special which was a chicken kabob and cucumber salad.  I also got a side of rugbrod (Danish rye bread) which came with almond butter and a berry preserve ($5). 

The chicken kabob was fantastic - super moist and flavorful and came with marinated grilled chunks of onion in between.  The cucumber salad was enormous - it was chunks (not sliced) cucumber in a mild dill yogurt sauce.  It was refreshing and simple yet something I haven't really seen elsewhere.  Finally the bread.  What can I say except it makes me never ever want to go on a no carb diet.  It was warm and comforting and so so delicious.  The rugbrod was also fabulous - although I can see why it may not be everyone's cup of tea.  It's a thick cut of bread that has a lot of texture to it thanks to the heaping of seeds and grains in it.  The almond butter and berry preserve was the perfect combination to it.  It's very hearty and it was a bit of an overkill with the other bread I had but oh well.  

I walked out of this place feeling instantly cooler and hipper.  While I can't say I ever crave Scandinavian food, it has a very soft spot in my heart and I would bring anyone here in a heartbeat if they were looking to tip their toe into this new culinary trend.  Total bill:  $24/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Chez Ma Tante Visited 1/20/2018 4.5 Forks

Chez Ma Tante  90 Calyer St., Brooklyn, NY 11222

This place is one of THE hottest, most talked about restaurants this year so far.  It's in a random far corner of Greenpoint but it was still packed to the gills on a Saturday.  I got there right when it opened at 11:30 and they were nice enough to seat me before Aarti got there.  By the time she got there 10 mins later, the place was totally full.  So either make a reservation or go right when it opens. 

The food is described as French Canadian but there wasn't any foie gras in sight but apparently the old menu had an emphasis on organ meat and terrines.  But the main reason people come here for brunch is for the pancakes.  They were pretty damn good but so was everything else.  Aarti and I called this meal the meal of aioli because basically everything we had came with a healthy dose of aioli - but who doesn't love aioli?!  We started the meal with chips (fries) and aioli ($7), the pancakes ($9), I got the egg and sausage sandwich ($13) and Aarti got the Spanish Tortilla (with aioli).  The menu online is different than what they are serving (I'm always annoyed when restaurants do that) so just a heads up that what you see may not be offered.  What we ordered was definitely WAY too much food for 2 people but we felt like we had to just go balls to the wall and we hadn't seen each other in a few weeks and had a lot to catch up on. 

The chips were essentially large crispy potato wedges and they were cooked to perfection.  They were almost too large but you can just cut them up if you need.  They were seasoned well and quite addictive with the aioli - I'd recommend them if you have more than 2 people but it was a bit much for us.  The egg sandwich was divine - a fluffy egg base, thick cut homemade sausage patty on a soft delicious bun.  I could barely finish the whole thing because it was so filling but it was an extremely hearty and satisfying sandwich - even if there wasn't any cheese on it.  As for the main attraction, I wish I had more room for it.  The pancake comes with 2 huge flaps so it's more than enough for 2 people.  It's thick and fluffy yet somehow the outside is crunchy and crispy.  I don't know how they do it but it was unlike any type of pancake I've had before.  It was like a toasted pancake.  Sadly, neither of us could finish it and we had to leave an entire flap on the plate which broke my heart. 

Overall, the place has a lovely calming vibe and the waitstaff was super sweet.  I would definitely come back but scale back my order so that I could actually enjoy my experience - not that I didn't but we clearly ordered way to much for 2 people and we walked out of brunch feeling a bit heavy in tummy.  If I lived closer (it was about a 30 min walk for me), I could see myself here all the time and wanting to become a regular.  Or maybe I'll do it anyways.  Total bill:  $45/pp with tax, tip and drinks

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Maman Visited 10/15/2017 4 Forks

Maman 80 Kent St., Brooklyn, NY 11222

I'm not sure if there is honestly a more Instagram worthy restaurant in all of NYC.  This place is made for social media - it's rustic, adorable, they have great branding and design and the food is beautiful.  Plus it doesn't taste too bad either.  The downsides of the Greenpoint location is that the restaurant is on the top floor of a small cafe, there are only 2 actual tables upstairs and they are only open on Saturday and Sunday.  Oh and the service is quite slow but I'll let it pass because it was one poor gal working the whole area.  It's also super hot upstairs, so even though it was the middle of October, it was one of those freakish warm days where it was almost 80 degrees and the place has no air conditioning.   While the restaurant is only open Saturday and Sunday, you can go to the cafe most days and they have a take-out menu of mostly sandwiches and salads that you can partake in.

The theme here is rustic French - the menu has croissants, tartines and quiches to name a few.  I really wanted to get the deconstructed avocado toast with a fried egg but I had been making that a lot at home so I opted for the waffle-iron hashbrowns ($16) and Aarti got the quiche of the day ($12).  The rest of the menu had great sounding healthy stuff like grilled chicken couscous, Mediterranean quinoa salad but also unhealthy but delicious stuff like matcha waffles and croque maman.

My hasbrown dish was actually more of a salad than a true hasbrown dish.  It was a big bowl of mixed greens, smoked salmon, avocado, cucumber, dill, a small handful of crunchy hashbrowns and then a "perfect" egg - which was really just a very well hard boiled egg.  It was a great healthy lunch alternative and all the ingredients were fresh and tasty.  And yes, the egg was perfect.  I actually could have done without the actual hashbrowns but they did add a nice crunch to it. This place is well known for their desserts and baked goods, but I opted out of it in the spirit of trying to be better about my food choices.  But definitely consider it when you're there.

In an idyllic world, I could see myself coming here with a good book, ordering a cup of coffee and some croissants and sitting at one of their antique tables and swing seats acting all hipster and cool.  While that won't happen in the real world, I can see myself coming here more often, especially since it's a bit off the beaten path and a much quieter brunch scene than any place I've been to in the city.  Total bill:  $23/pp with tax, tip and juice

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Paulie Gee's Visited 3/18/2017 4.5 Forks

Paulie Gee's    60 Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222

Paulie Gee's is legendary and been on my list for years.  But it's in Greenpoint, which even though is super close to me mile wise, still takes a bit to get to so I never got around to going.  But this was on my double brunch date with Amy and Anuja and we got to the area just around 4:45pm, which is 15 minutes before it opened.  We figured we'd kill some time at Ovenly next door and get a cookie and walk back.  Lo and behold, by the time we walked back at 5:04pm there was already 20+ people in line.  Crap.  Unfortunately they wouldn't seat an incomplete party and we were still waiting for Aarti, so we had to wait around for another 45 minutes for a table, which actually wasn't so bad considering we had just come from Aita not too long ago. The one thing that was kind of annoying is that they are old school - no reservations and no texting or calling you when you're table is ready.  You have to be there when they yell out your name or else they move on to the next group. 

When we finally got seated, I could kind of understand why they don't seat incomplete parties - it's mostly communal tables and it's tight seating, so they really try to maximize the seats there.  In any case, we had been reviewing the menu while we were waiting, so we knew exactly what we wanted to order by the time we sat down.  Considering it's kind of a fancy artisanal place, they have a TON of options and they even have a bunch of vegan options.  Hey - it is Brooklyn after all.  We decided on the Sake Mountain Way as the veggie option ($16) and the Hell Boy ($17) as the meat option with half of it with real meat and the other half with vegan meat and we started with the Gates of Eden salad ($10). Similar to Roberta's, it's thin Neapolitan pizza cooked in a huge wood fired oven in the plain view of the kitchen.  The pizza comes out pretty quickly and the sake mountain came out first - it's got fresh mozzarella, fresh tomato sauce with garlic, onion, olive oil, basil, sake reduction and heavy cream.  It's it's a bit like a twist to a vodka sauce and it's just as delicious.  It's got a hint of sweetness to it and the crust on this pizza was oh so delicious.  I am usually not a crust girl at all unless I'm really hungry or really like it and here I ate almost every bite of crust.  The dough was just the right texture of chewiness but it's still soft and elastic.  But the winning pizza for me was the Hell Boy - everyone had mentioned this before we went there that this was their favorite and I can see why.  It's got fresh mozzarella, soppressata, parm and Mike's hot honey.  It was the perfect combination of sweet, salty, meaty and cheesy without it being overwhelming or confusing on the palate.  It kind of reminded me of when I used to put maple syrup on my breakfast sausages in college.  We were so anxious for our pizza that we forgot that we didn't get our salad but our waitress actually noticed it and was very apologetic and offered to give it to her for half price.  Now that's what I call service!  The salad was a nice combo of well dressed greens, pecans, cranberries, pear and gorgonzola cheese. 

But the best part of the night was when Paulie himself came around and talked to almost everyone in the restaurant.  You could tell that he was still super proud of his place and excitedly asked everyone what they were eating and what their favorite was.  So cute and sweet - even though this place has clearly blown up, it's nice to see the original owners still caring enough to interact with their customers. 

I left super happy and quite full from my two meals that day - clearly one was better than the other. Now that I see what the wait situation is at Paulie's I wouldn't hesitate to come back again at 5:00pm on the dot or even actually around 7:30 when we left, there was no line (granted it was raining too) as that's when the 1st round of people who came in had stared to leave.   Apparently they have an entire secret pizza menu online, so now I have to go back and try some of those pizzas out!  Who's with me?  Total bill:  $21/pp with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Frankel's Delicatessen Visited 12/15/2016 3.5 Forks

Frankel's Delicatessen     631 Manhattan Ave.,  Brooklyn, NY 11222

Having been in NYC for over 15 years, it's hard not to love a great Jewish deli.  I mean who doesn't love smoked fish on a bagel, matzo ball soup and pastrami sandwiches?  This hipster place opened up in Greenpoint not too long ago and got rave reviews for its pastrami and breakfast sandwiches so I had to check it out.  It's a fairly small place with only 2 tables and a few seats by the windowsill, so be prepared to wait for a seat or just take it home. 

The menu has a yummy line up of perfect hang over food but I decided to go with the speciality bagel combo #1 - pastrami salmon, dill, cucumber and scallion cream cheese ($12).  Mind you, while this says it's a combo - it doesn't actually come with anything else.  I got it with a toasted everything bagel and a side of fries ($4) to make it my own combo.  

The sandwich was a good size with a nice heaping of cream cheese and a decent helping of lox in there.  The pastrami salmon had a good bite to it - it definitely had the flavor profile of pastrami but in lox formation.  The combination with the cucumber and cream cheese is always a winner, although I wished it also came with tomato and capers but then I guess if I wanted that I should have just gotten a more traditional lox sandwich.   Everything was great about the sandwich except for the bagel! While I did ask for it to be toasted, it was way too hard and difficult to bite into it.  I personally like my bagels to be warm and fluffy not hard and crusty.  So that was a big disappointment.  The guy next to me got a traditional pastrami on rye and it looked freaking amazing.  This is what I get for not ordering what the place is famous for.  Next time.  Luckily the fries made up for the bad carb element to the meal.  The fries were god damn addictive - they are basically McDonald's fries - skinny, salty and you can't put them down.  The bag is definitely enough for 2 people to share so don't try to eat it all by yourself like I did or else you're feel really sick (like I did). 

Overall, it was still a nice hipster Jewish experience and it's great that it was only a 15 min walk from my house so that I don't have to trek into the city for food like this.  I would probably recommend not toasting your bagel or sticking to the traditional offerings like the pastrami if you're only going to come check this place out once.  Total bill:  $17

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Sakura 6 Visited 10/9/2015 2 Forks

Sakura 6  837 Manhattan Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222

I'll keep this review short and sweet since there isn't a ton I really want to say about this place. Since I work from home on Fridays, I usually like to indulge in a lunch special around town.  For sushi, I usually trek into Greenpoint because the options around my place in Williamsburg are practically non-existent.  But on this particular Friday, I was actually on my way to Xian Famous Food for some noodles but I had to go to the ATM further up in Greenpoint and across the street was Sakura 6. 

I'm always a huge sucker for a sushi lunch special and the place was fairly crowded, so I thought I would try it out.  The place has the usual lunch special items: roll specials and bento boxes.  I opted to get the 3 rolls for $11.95 - comes with soup or salad.  The salad was your typical iceberg lettuce, cucumber, and shredded carrots - the dressing here was more of a creamy base vs. the usual ginger carrot one that I love.  For my 3 rolls, I ordered eel avocado, spicy crunchy tuna and spicy crunchy salmon - very basic and standard rolls.  The order came out quickly and they looked like they had been rushed and sadly put together.  The spicy tuna and spicy salmon was the pre-made mixture kind, which I'm not a huge fan of.  It just didn't taste like real fish (or anything) at all and there was too much crunch/tempura that the whole roll tasted dry and blah.  The eel and avocado roll had way too much eel sauce on top that over sweetened it.  I was just totally unimpressed and had way better rolls at Mizu on Bedford and at Sapporo down the street in Greenpoint. 

This was a total impulse stop and I can safely say that it's far enough that I won't be back.  I totally should have stayed on course and had my spicy noodles at Xian - oh well, there's always next Friday. Total bill:  $15 with tax and tip

Photo Credit:  Yelp  

Five Leaves Visited 11/15/2014 4.5 Forks

Five Leaves 18 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222

I had been wanting to try Fives Leaves for a long time but was always afraid of the crowds and thought that it might be too painfully hipster for me.  Well, there were crowds of people and there were hipsters, but it was still amazingly delicious.  It was well worth the throngs of people and even the cold of sitting outside (more on that later).

I thought that by going at 11AM, Jenn, Eric and I would be safe but the place was jammed packed inside and outside (it was 40 degrees outside) and spilling out into the streets.  Luckily, the hostess said that if we wanted to sit outside, there was 1 table left, otherwise it was a 30-40 min wait.  We decided to take our chances and sit outside - unfortunately they didn't have any heat lamps to keep their customers warm, so we sat bundled up in our puffy coats and scarves to stay warm.  The menu is an eclectic mix of breakfast and lunch food - they had pancakes, scrambles, and oatmeal as well as arctic char, steam mussels, pot pie and their famous burger.  Everything sounded mouth watering.  Since it was before noon, I opted for an egg dish and got the Moroccan Scramble ($13) as did Eric and Jenn got the Ricotta Pancakes ($13) and we split an order of truffle fries ($8).   Since it was cold outside we decided to warm up with a mug of hot buttered rum which indeed very buttery and rum-y.

I was super excited when the food came out so that it could warm me up.  The Moroccan Scramble looked amazing - merguez sausage, scrambled eggs with spiced chickpeas, crushed avocado all on top of a piece of grilled sourdough and then topped with tons of cilantro.  Yum!  It was a very hearty dish and I loved the flavor of the spicy chickpeas with the avocado and eggs. I actually didn't think the dish really needed the sourdough bread at all - the eggs, sausage and avocado were enough on its own.  But it was easily one of the most innovative and tastiest brunch dishes that I've had in a really long time.  What really put things over the edge for me was the truffle fries.  This stuff is some serious crack-like addictive shit.  They were perfectly crispy fries with the right hint of truffle oil on them.  Truffle flavoring is incredibly strong and it's easily over used but it was just right here.  I'm glad we split them for the table because otherwise, I could have easily inhaled the entire order of them and that would be bad for my health.  I also had a bite of Jenn's pancakes and they were incredibly delicious - albeit a heavy breakfast dish.  It was 3 huge stacks and served with a giant dollop of honey butter and pieces of banana, blueberries and strawberries sprinkled on top of it.  It was a very decadent dish but the quintessential breakfast pancake dish.

All in all, I really loved everything about this place except for the sitting in the cold and the slightly slow service.  The inside is tiny so I can only imagine how long the waits are once it's impossible to sit outside anymore.  However, they do open at 8AM, so if you are a morning person, run don't walk here but even if you have to wait, it's worth doing so.  Total bill:  $38/pp with tax and tip.

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Greenpoint Fish and Lobster Co. Visited 9/27/2014 4 Forks

Greenpoint Fish and Lobster Co.  114 Nassau Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11222

I always suspected that after Williamsburg, Greenpoint would be the next area to blow up and places like the Greenpoint Fish and Lobster Co. re-affirm that belief and it also makes me feel like I could live in Greenpoint despite its location.  There are actually a bunch of great places that are within a fairly reasonable walking distance from the Bedford stop on the L train including this place.  First thing you should know is that Greenpoint Fish and Lobster is part retail fish market and raw bar.  It's pretty small so don't go thinking it's a full fledged restaurant - it's pretty much a few bar stools and then 3 small two top tables.

The menu is reflective of what's fresh and available that day - so it's not a huge menu but there are good staple items of crudo, fish tacos, whole lobster and a variety of oysters.  Holly and I split the fluke crudo and we both got the fish tacos (you can ask for them grilled or battered).  The fluke crudo came thinly sliced and drizzled with a ton of olive oil and fresh lemon juice.  While the presentation could have used some work, the taste was fantastic.  It was extremely fresh and Holly and I both couldn't get enough of it.  I guess these are the perks of having a fish market literally inside your restaurant.  I'm usually a little weary of taco orders that only come out with two servings but these tacos were very filling and hefty.  They were served on two small soft flour tortillas, several pieces of grilled fish and then covered with a red cabbage slaw, chiptole mayo and sprigs of cilantro.   They were very solid fish tacos and while I did wish that I tried another dish where the freshness of the fish wasn't masked by a lot of other stuff on the plate, I definitely enjoyed my meal and would recommend it to others.  We finished off the meal with an order of both the key lime pie and the chocolate mousse pie - apparently they are both homemade by a friend of the owners.  I was a fan of the key lime - it had a nice hint of tartness and paired nicely with the graham cracker crust.

All in all, I was pretty pleased with my most recent foray into Greenpoint.  Our waitress was incredibly sweet and nice and even though the place was packed and there was a line forming, they never pressured us to leave, even when we had finished our food and were just sipping on our wine (did I mention that they have rose on tap?!).   If I lived a bit closer, I could definitely seem myself stopping by more often to satisfy my seafood craving.   I'm totally on a Greenpoint kick now, who's with me? Total bill with tip, tax and wine:  $50/pp

Photo Credit:  Yelp

Sindicato De Cocineros Visited 12/2/2012 3.5 Forks

Sindicato De Cocineros 57 Nassau Ave., (between Lorimer St & Manhattan Ave), New York, NY 11222

Even though Greenpoint isn't really that far from my apartment, it's far enough that I never really take the time to walk over there to check it out.  But after my walk over to Sindicato De Cocineros I will definitely try to make more of an effort to check out all the great stuff I saw on my way over to dinner.  Sindicato De Cocineros is a really cute higher end Mexican restaurant that I would have never thought existed in the more mom and pop neighborhood of Greenpoint.

The menu here is definitely more upscale than your traditional burrito and enchilada joint.  The menu ranges from jicama salads, gazpacho with shrimp and octopus, home made fish tacos, suckling pig and hanger steak.  So it's definitely an eclectic fancy menu.  We started with the guacamole ($9) and for an entree I had the hanger steak ($22).  In most higher end Mexican places that I've been to usually the guacamole is pretty small in size.  However, the size of this guacamole appetizer was actually pretty decent and for the dead of winter the avocados tasted super fresh and ripe.  The guacamole was very smooth in texture and the slices of radishes added a nice crunchy texture to it.

One of the main reasons I ordered the hanger steak was because the description of it sounded like a killer combination:  marinated hanger steak, oyster mushrooms, herbed mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, and snap peas.  The part I was most excited by was the brussels sprouts but when the dish came out I didn't see any of them.  But actually upon closer inspection I did find 4 pieces of brussels sprouts.  I guess it's not sprout season because they were the tiniest brussels sprouts I've ever seen.  But that actually didn't deter from the overall dish.  The hanger steak itself was huge and one of the bigger pieces of steak I've seen outside of a steakhouse.  My one small gripe was how the steak was served.  Usually with hanger steak, I prefer the steak cut into slices but this was served as one large piece and they didn't give me a steak knife.  But at least the meat was cooked perfectly medium rare that cutting it with a butter knife wasn't all that difficult.  The combination of a nice pink piece of steak, mashed potato and vegetables is really so basic but delicious at the same time.  I was so full that I couldn't even finish my steak, much to my dismay.  My friend had the braised pork shoulder with pistachio pipian, black beans & herbed mexican rice and the bite that I had was also done well.  The pork was juicy and tender and paired well with the herbed rice.  Of course, despite claiming that I was super full we had to consider dessert.   We ended up getting the lemon pie which was really more tart like than pie like.  It was a sweet lemon filling sandwiched between two wafers and served with a fresh lemon sorbet.  It was a nice refreshing end to what was kind of a heavy meal.

The ambiance of this place was very nice...it was casual yet also very intimate and cozy.  Although I will warn people that it is super dark in there at night, so if you are at all tired, I could easily see someone falling asleep at dinner.  Total bill: ~$100 for two including tax and tip.

Photo Credit: Facebook

Sapporo Haru Visited 12/11/10 4 Forks

Sapporo Haru  622 Manhattan Ave, (between Driggs Ave & Nassau Ave), Brooklyn, NY 11222

Ok, this place isn't fancy and isn't on the level as other 4 Forks restaurants I've been to, but it just really hit the spot at the right time.  My neighborhood is pretty lacking in terms of good affordable neighborhood sushi.  There are a few places on Bedford that are good, but for some reason this place just really impressed me.  They let you have unlimited free hot sake if you order more than $10, which clearly is never a problem for me and Dan.  We started with the edamame ($3.95) and I personally like them slightly undercooked and crunchy, which these were.  And they practically gave us an entire bag of them, so it felt like I was getting my money's worth, whereas usually I feel like it's a rip off to pay $4 for something that I know costs $1.50-$2 a bag.  Dan thought that they tasted funny like they had boiled it in water that was mixed with something else.  I didn't taste it, but he couldn't finish them because of it. 

The overall menu here is beyond extensive.  They have about 18 different sushi entrees, 36 different rolls and then 28 different chef's special rolls.  I know that this isn't the sign of a authentic true sushi place, but those places, while amazing and definitely make for an amazing eating experience, are generally too expensive for just a regular night out.  We had the sashimi appetizer ($9.95), which I thought was a great deal because you get 3 pieces of salmon, 3 pieces of tuna, 3 pieces of white tuna, and 3 pieces of mackerel.  This is sometimes the same number of pieces you get for a sashimi entree in some places. All the pieces of fish tasted fresh and satisfied my sashimi craving.  We then ordered the scallop roll ($6.95), new york roll ($8.95), and the birthday roll ($8.95).  I really enjoyed all the rolls and they were all very affordable, even the special rolls.  The scallop roll came with a large chunk of scallop (it wasn't cut up and mixed with mayo) with yummy spicy mayo layered inside.  The New York roll was larger than your average roll size and came with spicy tuna, crab, avocado, and a special white seaweed wrapped on the outside.  They claim the crab was Maryland crab, but I definitely didn't taste the "maryland" crab, but the overall roll was quite delicious.  Then the birthday roll was tuna, salmon, yellowtail with 3 types of tobiko on the outside.  This roll was totally fine as well, but nothing extremely special.  There were 6-8 rolls and due to the size of the New York roll, we were definitely full at the end.  We wanted to take advantage of the unlimited hot sake, but we just felt like we had no more room for anything.  I really wished this places was closer (although in the summertime, I would be more likely to walk here than in the cold) and I would totally eat here all the time. There are so many other things on the menu that I would try. It's a great deal and really hits the spot.  Total bill without tip for two people $42.     

Brooklyn Label Visited 3/27/10 2.5 Forks

Brooklyn Label 180 Franklin St
(between Green St & Huron St)

I always want to love Brooklyn Label, but every time I go there is something off. I do like the decor and location of the restaurant, but it's usually filled with overly tattooed hipsters. The menu has some great sounding food and definitely dishes that are a bit different and unusual. I had my usual green eggs and ham ($12), which is eggs with spinach, pesto and bacon on challah bread. I feel like when I first had it the dish was really good, but as time goes by it's gotten a bit worse. It was fine this time, but I feel like they could use something extra with the dish like a side salad or potatoes. Dan got the sweet potato hash ($14.50) which was basically cut up sweet potato, some buttery sauce, spicy sausage, eggs sunny side up and sweet wheat toast. I will say that they serve a good cup of coffee (I believe it's Stumptown brand). Everything is good but I think slightly overpriced. Our total bill was $44, which seems a bit excessive for just 2 entrees, a side of bacon and 1 cup of coffee. I feel bad nixing this from my list but I am tired of being disappointed.